Nurse&#39;s interchangeable uniform



Aug. 13, 1940. M. COHEN NURSES INTERCHANGEABLE UNIFORM Filed May 8, 1939 Patented Aug. 13, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to garments, and has particular reference to a nurse's uniform.

One object of the invention is to provide a nurses uniform having waist and skirt sections separately circularly interconnected by a slide fastener, so that the waist and skirt of the uniform are detachable to permit different waists and skirts to be interchangeably interconnected to provide a uniform of a desired style or appearance, and to permit the removal and washing of one section of the garment and its replacement in the interim by another garment section.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a garment such as a nurses uniform having circular garment sections circularly interconnected by a slide fastener, as in the case of the skirt and waist, with one of the sections, such as the waist having an improved circular flap or belt for overlying and concealing the slide fastener with the belt referred to contracted to hug the other garment section such as the skirt to prevent the belt from wrinkling and curling up-' ward to expose the slide fastener.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved offset relation of the sections of the slide fastener to facilitate the action of the concealing belt portion.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a nurses uniform wherein the waist and skirt have upright offset openings, with the belt having an extension between the openings, and

the slide fastener having a portion along said extension, whereby added convenience is obtained in the use of the uniform and a greater variety of design effects is attainable.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the specification proceeds.

With the aforesaid objects in view, the invention consists in the novel combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described in their preferred embodiments, pointed out in the subjoined claims, and illustrated in the annexed drawing, wherein like parts are designated by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view in front elevation showing a nurses uniform embodying the invention.

.. Fig. 2 is a similar view with the waist and *skirt separated and part of the waist opened up Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fi 3. The advantages of the'invention as here outlined are best realized when all of its features and instrumentalities are combined in one and 5 the same structure, but, useful devices may be produced embodying less than the whole.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, that the same may be incorporated in several different con- 10 structions. The accompanying drawing, therefore, is submitted merely as showing the preferred exemplification of the invention.

Referring in detail to the drawing, Ill denotes a nurses uniform embodying-the invention. The same may comprise circular garment sections, such as a waist member ll and a skirt member l2. These may be made of any suitable material and may have any desired style or appearance. Preferably the waist has a front opening at I3 20 extending from the neck to the waist line, this opening being closable by any feasible means such as the buttons and buttonhole elements at I4. Thus the waist can be opened and closed in the usual manner. I

The skirt I! may have an opening at l5, be-

. ginning at the upper edge of the skirt and extending downward as far as may be required. For instance, the opening l5 may extend only part way down and may be closed by any feasible means, such as the buttonholes at It. On opening the skirt at l5, sufiicient width is afforded to permit a woman to easily step into the skirt.

The openings at l3 and I5 may be in any desired relation to each other in the horizontal direction, but are preferably ofiset as shown. In other words, the waist opening is preferably relatively central, whereas the skirt opening is laterally disposed. The degree of offset may be varied to suit. By this arrangement, the buttons and seams are placed in a position where they will not be subject as readily to soiling as if they were centrally located. Also different design effacts in the garment are thus attainable.

Preferably the waist or Mouse is provided with a circular marginaldepending portion or flap such as a belt I! adapted to dependingly overlie and conceal the slide fastener joint between the waist and skirt as hereinafter described. The belt I! may have an extension or projection element l8 extending between the openings at l3 and Hi to form a bridge between the same. 'If desired, it may have any fastening such as a buttonhole It for engaging a button 20 on the adjacent opposite corner of the waist.

- For circularly interconnecting the garment sections, I provide a slide fastener comprising separable slide fastener sections 2|, 22 interengageable as by a slide 24. These sections may have their respective stringers or tapes 24, 25. The slide fastener extends along the belt extension l8, and hence is continuous, being interrupted only at the opening i5.

In a flap or overlap such as I! considerable difficulty is experienced in that the same tends to wrinkle and curl up to expose the slide fastener. This occurs as when the wearer is seated and the garment rubs against the back of the chair. I therefore contract the portion i'i along its lower. edge, while maintaining the pliability and washability of the belt I I, and keep the overlap on the slide fastener quite narrow.

By way of illustration, the belt I! may consist of a folded layer of fabric secured as at the lines of stitching 26, 21, and having therein at its fold 28 a tensioned cord 29 to contract the belt I! slightly inward. Also a line of stitching may be provided at 2% which may be suitably tensioned, and one or both of these means may be used to contract the lower part of the belt from end to end thereof.

Desirably also the lower edge of the waist may be infolded at 30 and the stringer 24 secured to the inner face thereof as at 21. Likewise the upper edge of the skirt may be outwardly folded as at 31, and the stringer 25 secured to the outer face thereof as by a line of stitching 32. Thus spacing means are obtained to space the skirt i2 inward of the waist to facilitate the inward contraction of the belt throughout the circular extent of the garment. If it be desired to adjust this action, the cord 29 may be secured only at its ends to permit the tension thereon to be easily changed to suit. The contraction of the belt may be sufllciently small to prevent any noticeable wrinkling thereof.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a nurse's uniform which fulfills the objects of the invention and is well adapted for practical use.

I claim:

A nurse's uniform comprising a waist member having an opening from the neck to the waist line so that the waist member can be opened and closed from end to end thereof, a skirt member having an opening extending downward from the upper end thereof, slide fastener means for interconnecting the waist and skirt members at the Waist line of the waist member and upper end of the skirt member, said openings being ofiset from each other, the waist member having a belt-like element extending between said openings, said belt-like element having a free end and being connected at its opposite end to the waist member at that side of the waist opening remote from the skirt opening and being of sufficient length to overlie the lower end of the waist opening and the upper end of the skirt opening, said slide fastener means extending along said belt-like element, said slide fastener means being interrupted only at the opening in the skirt member and being otherwise continuous, and other means for releasably closing said openings, said waist member having a belt permanently connected thereto continuously along the waist line thereof to overlap and conceal the slide fastener means with the belt-like element constituting an integral end portion of said belt, and the slide fastener section for the waist member being continuously connected to said belt.

MIRIAM COHEN. 

